Karnataka: Cabinet okays Udupi Hospital expansion

Bangalore: The state cabinet has ordered the expansion of Udupi hospital and handed over the project to Business Magnet, B R Shetty. The Hospital which was earlier constructed under the Rajiv Arogyashree Scheme a few years back was due for expansion. The efforts will be directed to make a 70-bedded facility and slowly upgrade it to a 200-bed super specialty maternity and pediatric hospital.The expansion will thus help aid better facilities for patients in the state.

As Stated by law minister TB Jayachandra to TOI, Shetty wanted to take this work in the memory of his mother who was born in Udupi, and thus the project was given to him in this regard. Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty (known as Dr. B. R. Shetty) is the Executive vice-chairman & chief executive officer of Abu Dhabi based NMC Healthcare and UAE Exchange.

The hospital will be handed over to Shetty on lease period of 30 years and other three CA sites in and around the hospital are also handed over to him for expansion, as decided by the state cabinet.

The government will keep a watch on the landholding given to the private company by setting up a working committee under the chairmanship of health secretary for the duration of entire 30 years (duration of the lease period).

The state cabinet along with the hospital has also decided to consider reservation of funds for developing water bodies in the city.

Briefing the media, after the cabinet meeting, law minsiter T B Jayachandra said the government has sought the reservation of funds for developing the water bodies in the city. "The planning authorities will be asked to reserve these funds and hand it over to the KLDA for conservation of water bodies," he said.

In another decision of the state cabinet, it has decided to keep aside funds for projects that were stalled after the central government funds under JnNURM and other schemes were scrapped by the NDA government.